National Forests In North Carolina To Close Campgrounds And Offices Ahead of Hurricane Florence

September 12, 2018 at 3:33 pmSeptember 28, 2018 at 10:12 amby US Forest Service

Asheville, NC, September 12, 2018 – The U.S. Forest Service, Forest Supervisor, having closely tracked the forecast models of Hurricane Florence, has decided to close down all campgrounds and recreation sites, day use or overnight, in the Nantahala and the Pisgah National Forests by Thursday September 13 at noon.

This will include the temporary suspension of creating reservations on www.recreation.gov. Cancelled reservations, for this timeframe, will be refunded by the reservation service.

The Forest Service will close all seasonal gates, to ensure no one has the opportunity to get trapped behind gates. We strongly request that, due to expected wind and rainfall, the public not use trails or general forest areas. Emergency response times will be multiplied if an incident or medical emergency were to occur.

The health, safety, and well-being of the public and visitors to our National Forests is of our number one priority. Sites will be evaluated for health and safety and reopened as conditions allow following the storm passage.